Too Little Too Late?

Just as the race for Oscar gold begins to heat up in Hollywood, it seems that there's a "controversy" brewing at one of the studios, over 2 of its films.

The Drudge Report's latest headline story claims that the suits at Universal Pictures prefer Brokeback Mountain over Munich to win the top prize as this year's best picture.

The story, posted by Drudge himself, asserts through an unnamed source, that Steven Spielberg feels that his film Munich, has been all but "neglected" by the studio, in terms of marketing and publicity.

Assuming the story is true, I think Spielberg has to bear some of the responsibility for any lack of publicity for the film, particularly in the run-up to its release. He is the one who decided that their would be very little press done for the film, not the studio. By contrast, those responsible for Brokeback Mountain, have been everywhere talking it up. Besides, Spielberg has more control over the movies he makes, than probably any other director in the biz. Just look at how he "tells" the broadcast networks how his flicks, like Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List will be broadcast commercial free and unedited. No other filmmaker can do that.